Pick your own apples at De Buytenhof in Rhoon: fifteen minutes from Rotterdam and five kilos costs 9.25 euro

Fifteen minutes south of central Rotterdam, on the Rijsdijk in Rhoon, De Buytenhof runs an orchard, a flower field, a farm shop and a tearoom on one plot. The pick-your-own season runs from 25 August to the end of October, the trees are carrying Jonagold and Goudreinet now, you pay by weight, no reservation is needed and baskets are waiting in the orchard. Families need to settle one thing first: the orchard is closed on Sundays and Mondays, which is exactly when most people are free, and on Tuesday to Friday picking only starts at noon while Saturday starts at ten. Fix those two facts before you choose a day and decide how much to pick.

• What makes it specific: De Buytenhof is not an ordinary orchard but a zorgboerderij, a care farm, where the orchard, the flower field, the shop and the tearoom are run together with the people in day care there. The varieties rotate with the season: Delcorf in late August, Elstar in early September, Jonagold and Goudreinet through September and October. (source 1, source 2)
• When and where: picking runs from 25 August to the end of October, Tuesday to Friday 12:00-16:00 and Saturday 10:00-16:00, closed Sundays, Mondays and public holidays, while the farm itself is open Tuesday to Saturday 9:00-17:00. You settle up by weight at the little house in the orchard and card payment works. Park on the Oude Weg or along the dike; there is a large bike shelter. (source 1)
• Who it suits: families around Rotterdam, Barendrecht and Spijkenisse who want an afternoon out without buying tickets. A fenced play field sits beside the terrace so adults can sit while children play, the tearoom serves home-made apple tart, lunches and high tea, and the farm runs workshops for apple sauce and apple juice. (source 2)
• Check before you go: Sundays and Mondays are out; picking opens later than the farm does, so Tuesday to Friday means waiting until noon; and there is no entrance ticket, only the weight you carry out, so agree with the children in advance how full the basket is allowed to get. (source 1, source 2)

Do the sum yourself: the fruit costs kilos x 1.85 euro. A family of four picking five kilos pays 9.25 euro; ten kilos is 18.50. If you want certified organic instead, Landgoed de Olmenhorst in Lisserbroek is open in the same weeks at 3.50 euro a kilo, with weekend parking at 6 euro per car that has to be booked in advance: the same five kilos is 9.25 euro at De Buytenhof against 17.50 plus 6 euro parking at Olmenhorst. Put in the number of kilos you actually want, then decide whether you need the organic label and which day you are free, because Olmenhorst opens on Wednesday afternoons and at weekends while De Buytenhof closes on Sundays and Mondays. (source 3)

Where

Rijsdijk 98, 3161 EW Rhoon

When

Picking 25 August to end of October・Tue-Fri 12:00-16:00・Sat 10:00-16:00

Price

Apples 1.85 euro a kilo・weighed and paid on the spot, card accepted

Ages

No minimum age stated by the farm

Note

Closed Sundays, Mondays and public holidays・picking starts later than the farm opens・park on the Oude Weg or along the dike

Hokimi field note: the shop and the tearoom keep longer hours than the orchard does, opening at nine from Tuesday to Saturday while picking waits until noon on weekdays. Arrive around eleven for the shop and the play field, walk into the orchard the moment it opens, and come back for apple tart afterwards.